Come Join The Mommy Reality Challenge
Three blogger friends are setting out to change the way the world views the reality of motherhood. Today, we are proud and positively ecstatic to announce the launch of the #mommyreality Blogging Challenge!
Meet The Mommy Reality Team:
Our Mission:
We want to provide an honest glimpse at what being a mom is all about and capture the real unedited moments on our blogs and social media accounts to spread the word. Lets remind ourselves and each other that Pinterest projects fail, milk spills, bathtub grout builds, and sometimes the kiddos have Kraft Mac and Cheese for dinner.
We don't want you to worry about your pictures being posed or perfect or that your posts are making you sound a certain way. The object of this challenge is to capture the imperfect in our lives. You will be trying to connect to your blog readers by capturing and sharing real, honest and unstaged family moments.
Our Vision:
We want to inspire both our fellow mommy bloggers and our blog readers. We want to spread the word that there is no perfect mom. That we all struggle every day to do the best for our kids and that life is full of little accidents, messes, mistakes, and mishaps and that’s what makes it interesting! We are sick of going it alone and want to join forces with other real moms out there!
The Anatomy Of A Viral Post
About a week ago I was invited to attend a mini Bloggy Boot Camp put on by the SITS Girls and Invisalign. Last week here on the blog I covered 5 important points that every blogger should know.Holly (Quirky Momma) from The Kids Activity Blog was also a featured speaker at the Boot Camp. Holly is amazing and her story is inspiring. She grew her social media presence to the hundreds of thousands in just a few short months.
Holly instructed us on the important elements needed to create a viral post and I would like to share this information with you.
Dealing With Milestones
This week we are heading into some BIG milestones for our family, a kindergarten graduation and a graduation from elementary school.First let's talk about my kindergartener, Rebekah. I cannot believe that an entire school year has passed, It seems like just yesterday that I dropped her off for her first day of school.
Man-day Post: Happy Mother's Day!
It's time for another installment of Man-day from Jensguy.I'm going to keep this post short, because I have quite a few things going on today.
Labels:
mothers,
mothers day
Five Things I Learned At Bloggy Boot Camp Every Blogger Should Know
This last Sunday evening I was invited to attend a Bloggy Boot Camp sponsored by the SITS Girls and Invisalign. I have never been to one of these before and was ready and excited to learn as much as I could.
There was a lot covered in a very short period of time and I took a lot of notes. In order to share the information in the most concise manner, I will focus on five points. There is much more to cover, but this will start the conversation rolling.
Sometimes Being A Mother Stinks
Yes, yes you did just read that right.
Man-day Post: Is the Jungle Book Racist?
It's time for another installment of Man-day by Jensguy.
Yahoo entertainment reporter Amanda Bell writes an article talking about the upcoming live action remake of "The Jungle Book," full of a-list stars, which is exciting because then they can remove all of the racism from the movie.
The Easiest and Best Sopapillas You Will Ever Make
I have already covered that my mother is from Chihuahua Mexico and my family has a long standing tradition of fabulous Mexican food. Mexico is a very big country with many regions and each region has it's signature dishes which vary in both ingredients and cooking styles.
Labels:
Cinco de Mayo,
easy sopapilla recipe,
Rhodes rolls
Disney Infinity Just Got A Whole Lot More Awesome
Last week I discussed with you the Disney Infinity gaming system. Yesterday Disney just announced a new addition coming this fall, and it includes Marvel characters:
Hey, recognize these guys? Just like a mirror. Nailed It!
So back to the Infinity release, it looks like the Black Widow will soon be teaming up with Elsa from Frozen on the JENerally Informed living room television.
How to MakeYour Own Sugar Body Scrub
As we are getting ready to head into summer, at least here in my neck of the woods, my skin is feeling dry and rough. On a recent trip to the mall to pick up some sugar scrub to counteract this problem, I had the epiphany that I could make this myself. Now we all know that not all of my DIY projects turn out exactly as planned, but this one is easy, fabulous and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Jen Nails It Southern Pinterest Challenge
A few weeks back I introduced a new Jen Nails It Pinterest Challenge, wherein I was going Southern.I, the little Hispanic girl, was going to try and make fried chicken and the whole enchilada. Um, make that grits casserole?
Here was the recipe and picture I snagged from Pinterest.
I also decided to make this cheesy grits caserole.
As the coup d'etat I pulled in this recipe for collared greens.
Man-day Post: Red Pill Mommy Blogging
It's time for this week's edition of Man-day by Jensguy.*Note from Jen- This is a pretty amazing post. Most bloggers won't share this info with you, but my husband wants to make sure every Mommy Blogger is rewarded for their hard work.
So what if I were to tell you that much of what you thought you knew about building a blog wasn't so. What if developing your content while slowly but surely building a community of readers wasn't the way to gain advertisers and sponsorships? What if there was a system where you were immediately judged and either dismissed entirely or let into the "Cool Kids Club?"
I certainly didn't like the sound of something like that and was very invested in the natural way of blog building where your social networking was the driver to the content of your blog. I wouldn't blame you if you dismissed these ideas as rubbish and continued on as you have. I felt that way even a couple of weeks ago. For that we can offer the Blue Pill.
Take the Blue Pill and you will go on as normal, which isn't a bad place to be.
Now if you wish to take the Red Pill. . .
Review: The Disney Infinity Game System
For Christmas this year the JENerally Informed children were surprised with a Disney Infinity game system. The hubs and I did our research before buying and all of us have been really happy with it. The gist is that the game allows you to purchase finely crafted figurines that enter the actual game when placed on a pedestal. By themselves, the figurines are awesome, but the fact they are actually playable video game characters, makes the whole concept just special.
My First VoxBox: Sargento Ultra Thin Cheese
About a month ago I signed up with Influenster and was pleasantly surprised when I received an email saying that they had selected me to receive The Sargento Ultra Thin Cheese VoxBox. Woo- hoo I LOVE cheese!I have been to Europe twice and also lived there for a semester for school. I am a cheese connoisseur and take my cheese very seriously. I can make whole meals off just cheese and bread.
Here's a picture of the VoxBox.
Labels:
Influenster,
Reviews,
Sargento Ultra Thin Cheese,
VoxBox
Word Is Getting Out About My Blogging
So last week one evening around 7:30 p.m. my doorbell rang. I was a little slow getting down there, but when my husband answered the door no one was there, just a single stapled together craft idea sitting on my doorstop from another blog.
No note, nothing. Hmm, this is very curious. Well alrighty then, is it a challenge or a desire to help inspire a new blogger? I suspect the person had internet access in order to print it, but didn't perhaps want to be identified. This could have been A LOT worse. Oh well, I 'm up for trying anything!
Anyway, how hard can this be and peeps are like 10 cents now that Easter is over and I have most of the other stuff hanging out in my cupboards.
Here we go:
Man-day Post:The Tweets, They Are A-Changin'
It's time for this week's edition of Man- day from Jensguy.
Jennifer has allowed me a second week in a row of tech blogging. If you find the content useful, please let us know in the comments section. If you would rather me to go back to baseball blogging, let us know about that as well. :)
If you haven't already heard, Twitter is revamping its user interface. Going from:
to
Future Farmers Of America & Easter
What might the FFA and Easter have in common?Well, this is the weekend where I change out my glittery sandals for work boots and gloves in order to help rope in our crazy little bunny Lance A-Lop for the County Fair. The biggest event of the year for 4H and the FFA. This year the County Fair just happens to take place over Easter weekend. I guess it's kind of fitting since we have a bunny.
Here's my girl last year placing in the finals for showmanship. We were so proud of her.
Labels:
4H,
Easter,
FFA,
redneck woman,
scary bunny pics
The 10 Greatest Mullets of the 80's and 90's
No Hockey Players. Professionals aren't allowed in these Olympics.
The mullet must be a trademark image and not just a one time movie role thing.
Boys only. I will hand out the Aquanet Awards to the girls at a later date.
John Stamos is disqualified, because he knows what he did.
Also, no Billy Ray Cyrus, because. . .Miley. Once that gets resolved, he can rejoin the list.
And here we go:
Three Important Do's & Dont's For "Mommy" Bloggers
A few years ago I started blogging about the children's book my sister and I wrote together, The Practically Perfect Princess. I have watched and learned quite a bit over the years and wanted to share some helpful blogging tips that I have picked up.
1. Do not ruin a good blog hop or post, by being spammy. No one likes the comment, "Just popping in for the hop. Follow me here." This is rude and is the conversation equivalent of saying, "Well enough about you and whatever you were sharing. Let's talk about me now." I do not like when people do that and I know I am not alone in this sentiment. Do not be this person. It's kind of like:
I'm happy for you and all, and I'm going to let you finish your post,
but my blog is the best of ALL TIME!
How to Turn Your Princess Into A Mermaid
My little Rebekah has been begging
for a mermaid tail for quite a long time. I found a super cute mermaid tail
idea and wanted to share my simple tutorial for turning your Princess into a mermaid!
Man- day Post: The Last Days of Facebook
It's time for this week's edition of Man- day from Jensguy.
Which brings us to Facebook.
It is hard to fathom the success that Facebook has had. They currently have about 1.2 BILLION users with a healthy 61% of monthly users logging on almost daily. That isn't going away overnight, but it is very clear that Facebook has reached its peak. Here are a few of the warning signs:
Facebook is currently shifting their eggs. Instead of rolling more functionality into their flagship product, they are breaking it into pieces. Chat functionality will be discontinued on mobile Facebook and will be funneled into a separate, detachable application (Much like AOL instant messenger which far outlived mainstream AOL.) The future of picture sharing appears to be moving to Instagram, which Facebook purchased and is developing outside of their main product. Those are some industrial strength escape hatches.
Come Climb With Me
I am excited to be this week's co-host for the Chain Linky Climb. I really like this hop because it will last for the whole month and is a great way to find new blogs, network and make new friends. It's like a month long big old circle of friends!
WELCOME!
It's the month long Networking Blog Hop
WELCOME!
Labels:
Blog Hops,
Chain Linky Climb
Jen Nails It Challenge Southern Style
One thing I have NEVER EVER tried to make is Southern comfort food. My husband and children feel this is a situation that apparently needs to be remedied.
So, for my 3rd installment of the Jen Nails It Pinterest Challenge I will attempt to make a bona fide Southern dinner with fried chicken as the star!
I understand from my research that most fried chicken recipes have been handed down from generation to generation, can be decades even a hundred years old and are almost a living breathing entity in some families. Yup, I should totally be able to NAIL this bad boy for sure.
Guest Post: How To Shape and Define Eyebrows
Who is ready for another beauty fix from the fabulous Berta of Mommy Like Whoa? Get ready for your complete guide to perfectly defining and shaping your eyebrows.
Also, don't miss Berta's other contribution "How to do your makeup in 10 minutes or less!"
Eyebrows are very important. They frame your face and complete your look. They are often the most underrated beauty aspect, but they really need to be given a little attention.
I am going to show you how to clean up, shape and maintain gorgeous brows, with very little effort! So what are you waiting for? Let's get to it!
The BEST Bread Recipe For An Automatic Breadmaker EVER!
When I was a little girl I was obsessed with the book Bread And Jam For Frances. I read the book so many times it fell apart. I also owned this nifty recorded version which I would
play on my Fisher Price record player. Yes, that would be the same record player the hubs talked about earlier this week.
Yesterday we covered the basics of making jam, easey peasey right? Now
what is better than a fresh loaf of homemade bread for your homemade
jam? NOTHING I tell you! Frances would say the same.
Today I am going to share with you the bread recipe, specifically for an automatic breadmaker that my late Father spent years perfecting.
Making Homemade Jam Isn't As Hard As You Think It Is
When I grew up I wanted to be a fabulous cook just like she was. I remember when I made my very first batch of jam. I made it with my daughter and all of the warm memories of cooking in the kitchen with my mother as a little girl returned. I don't think I am as good a cook as my mother, but there is still hope.
*There is a BIG secret though to making jam, as taught to me by my mother and this dictates when I make jam.
ONLY make jam with berries that are on sale. Otherwise it is way too expensive. This last week strawberries were on "ganga" sale for .99 cents a package and that meant it was time to start canning and filling the freezer!
I wanted to share with all of you how easy it really is to make jam.
Man-Day Post: The Seven Coolest Toys I Owned As A Kid
It's time for this week's edition of Man- day from Jensguy.Do you ever have those moments when you look back wistfully at the things you owned as a child? Obviously, because I was a boy, most of those things were lovingly used to the point that they were falling apart. But they sure do bring back good memories. So today I am going to salute some of the marvelous material possessions that helped make my childhood.
Best Features- The friction powered MOOO! generator that sounded whenever the door opened. Whoever designed that was a genius before their time as it completely captured the sound of an actual cow with no recording technology. Also the black pig. I would pay handsomely for that black rubber pig as a paperweight for my desk.
Best Features- The swept back chopper-style handlebars and the banana seat. I don't understand why the banana seat ever went out of style. You could haul friends comfortably without putting them on your handlebars. Also, you could lean back far enough to easily "pop a wheelie."
Best Features- The button on the console between the seats that would play one of 5 recorded CB messages from Evel, "That's a 10-4 good buddy, I'm out!" People forget how cool Evel Knievel paired with CB talk was, It made a six-year-old's head almost explode. Also the fact that I believe the van had plastic seatbelts. Evel and seatbelts, heh!
Lookee, Lookee A Liebster Award!
I have been blogging here on JENerally Informed for a short time and was really nervous about starting this blog. I shouldn't have been. I have met such amazing people who I never would have met otherwise. People who have really taken me under their wing, been so very kind and become real friends. One of these people is my friend Sara over at Rhapsody and Chaos, who just nominated ME for a Liebster award!
In case you’re new to blogging, the Liebster award is given to bloggers with less than 500 followers to give them a little boost in followers and blogging confidence. To accept the award, a blogger must:
- Make a post about the award, thanking the blogger that nominated you.
- State 11 interesting facts about yourself
- Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger that nominated you
- Nominate 11 new bloggers with 500 or less followers
- Write 11 new questions for your nominees
11 Facts About Me
1. I am a very bad pregnant person. I am sick for 6 or 7 months. I never throw up, but want to all day long. Even water makes me sick.
2. I do not enjoy driving the speed limit. It's like a little part of me dies inside when I have to drive 30 miles an hour. I am always having to check myself and press the brake.
3. My sister and I wrote a children's book together that has done quite well. Last year while delivering my baby a nurse came in with her book and had "QueenMomJen" sign her copy for her daughter.
Labels:
Liebster Award
I'm Co-Hosting This Week's TGIF Blog & Instagram Hop!
I have a new addiction, Instagram! I love seeing your babies and children, your delicious food, amazing blog posts and all about your life. All of these things make me happy, but I need more. Like now.Luckily the ladies from Three Sisters and us, Complete Bliss, and My Silly Little Gang gave me the great opportunity to co-host their hop today, so make sure you link up your blog AND Instagram account and then I can see all of your Instagram goodness.
Oh and did I mention that someone will be walking away with a $20 Target gift card just for linking up? Just trying to bring the awesome one small step at a time.
Welcome To The TGIF Hop!
Lets celebrate making it through another week by
linking your blog and/ or your instagram below.
You may link up any post.
Remember, visiting other blogs and/ or Instagram links is what makes a successful blog hop.
This hop runs from every week. Starting Friday morning to Wednesday morning.
Be kind and grab a TGIF BLOG HOP button below.
You may link up any post.
Remember, visiting other blogs and/ or Instagram links is what makes a successful blog hop.
This hop runs from every week. Starting Friday morning to Wednesday morning.
Be kind and grab a TGIF BLOG HOP button below.
Ulitmate Blog Party 2014
A few years ago when I started blogging over on our book blog, The Practically Perfect Princess one of my friends tipped me off about The Ultimate Blog Party that is hosted by the fabulous ladies over at 5 Minutes For Mom. Being such a newbie I was nervous and scared, but joined in anyway. I should not have been scared at all.The Ultimate Blog Party was such a great experience. My sister and I launched our debut book as the party began and by joining the party we met friends that we still follow today. Many of these bloggers we met at our first UBP have grown from new bloggers just like us into Blogging Rockstars and I have loved watching their successes and sharing mine with them.
If you have never heard of the party, you need to go visit and get linked up. Hundreds of bloggers join in. There are some awesome twitter parties and even more awesome giveaways.
If you are visiting here from the UBP 2014 welcome and I hope you enjoy your time here. My name is Jen and I am a mother to 4, aged 12 to 1 years old. I am a children's book author, blogger and PR consultant. JENerally Informed is place for me to share with others what I have learned and to learn from them. My husband and 4 kids join in on the blogging here and so it is a real family affair.
I look forward to meeting all of you and visiting your blogs. Leave me a comment and a link to your site so I can make sure to visit.
Stay Happy. Stay Informed.
Love,
Jen
Labels:
UBP 2014
Guest Post: Morning Time Savers for Busy Moms
I have awesome friends and I love learning about their tried and true mothering tips. My friend Carolyn over at A Lavender Life wrote this very helpful post last week and it especially resonated with me. I have 3 children to get out the door each morning. I end up doing hair while holding a baby, making lunch and breakfast and it seems like the carnage after they are out the door leaves me pooped and frustrated! You would think I should have it down by now.
Carolyn has some great tips whether you have 1 or more kids to get out the door or maybe it's just the hubs you have to shew out. Anyway, I hope this little time management refresher course helps you like it did me. Feel free to share what you have found helps get you and yours out the door without losing your sanity!
Turning things over to Carolyn now.
Meet 7 Animals Who Will Never Be Disney Characters
My son Caleb felt like we had been leaning a bit too much towards the girl here lately and told me that we needed to bring in some more boy topics!He and I discussed what we could do and together we created this post. It really isn't just for boys and we think you will find out some pretty awesome things about the world we live in.
Prepare to be amazed!
Guest Post: Easter Outfit Inspiration For Kids
I love how she puts together such fabulous outfits for herself (she always looks so cute in all of her pics) as well as her darling little "peanut" Amalia Rose.
Since it is now officially the beginning of Spring and we are just a few short weeks away from Easter I asked her to come and guest post today some Easter outfit inspiration for our littlest peanuts. You will be impressed with what she came up with. Super cute and affordable!
Turning things over to Lisa now. Enjoy!
Man-Day Post: Things Your Computer Guy Won't Tell You
It's time for this week's Man-day post by Jensguy.
Here are a few things that every person you have ever asked to fix your computer wished you knew, but are probably never going to come right out and tell you. So I will.
1. There are no secrets. When someone is servicing your computer, they will ask some questions. If they are good at what they do, they will not ask stupid embarrassing questions. Please tell them the truth. They will find out eventually anyway, all they want to do is save you and them some time, which is important if you are paying them. If you download questionable coupon software, they will know, if you spy for the Russians, they will likely figure that out as well. If you have a folder of boudoir photography, don't leave it in an easily accessible place, especially if it is your nephew working on your computer.
Some Ways To Fool Your Kids On April Fool's Day
Next week we celebrate the time honored tradition of freaking people out as part of a National Holiday. I have amassed some of the best the internet has to offer in the hopes of helping you craft your own April Fool's Day plans.
Common Core? Lets Start With Common Sense!
This is nine-year-old Kamryn Renfro:
When her best friend, elven-year-old Delaney Clements had a relapse of Neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer requiring chemotherapy, Kamryn shaved her head as a sign of solidarity with Delaney.
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